Multiple regulatory breaches were uncovered by the Ministry of Education at Fern Garden Preschool and Childcare Centre in Tauranga—a centre owned by Darius Singh, President of the Early Childhood Council (ECC), and his wife, Niketta.
The Ministry supplied 40 hours of face-to-face professional coaching/ education to Fern Garden Preschool at a cost of $7,500 excl. gst to NZ taxpayers.
The following year breaches were discovered at two other of the owners’ centres.
This is significant because, as ECC President, Mr Singh is ultimately responsible for the quality of information and advice the Council provides to its members on managing services and meeting regulatory requirements. His leadership sets a behavioural standard for other centre operators affiliated with the ECC.
The Ministry of Education promotes the ECC as an advisor on ECE staff employment and centre operations, and regularly consults the lobby group for policy advice.
Key points
At Fern Garden Preschool and Childcare, the Ministry of Education believed building renovations were carried out between 2015 and 2017 which resulted in younger children losing direct access to outdoor play—constituting a breach of licensing regulations. This issue only came to light in 2020 after the Ministry investigated a complaint about other issues.
The Ministry gave several days’ notice before visiting the centre to discuss the complaint.
The centre then had just over a month before a formal inspection and compliance check was conducted.
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